Definition

The occurrence of one or more additional health conditions alongside a primary illness.

Example

Patients with diabetes often face comorbidity with heart disease or high blood pressure.

Conversation

I read an article about comorbidity in health issues.

Oh really? What did it say about it?

It talked about how having multiple conditions can complicate treatment.

That makes sense; managing comorbidity must be quite challenging.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Comorbidity → It is formed from "com-" (meaning together) and "morbidus" (from Latin, meaning sick or diseased) and "-ity" (a suffix used to form nouns indicating a state or condition). The term refers to the presence of one or more additional conditions co-occurring with a primary condition, thus indicating multiple diseases or disorders existing together.

Memory Tip

Think of 'together' ('com-') and 'sick' ('morbidus') to remember that 'comorbidity' means having multiple health conditions at the same time.

Visually Confused Words